Emma Fineman
Emma Fineman
Painter/Photographer/Mixed Media
Emma understands femininity in all its freedom and restraint. There’s a beauty to her paintings and photography that simultaneously calls to mind motion and standing still; it leaves you questioning your balance.
The same goes for her depiction of the outdoors – freely flowing landscape as a sentence dotted with a solitary figure – perhaps in 50’s garb, or a deer nibbling underneath the coffee table. There’s a sense of pause for reflection; the feeling of yourself out there, distracted, in and of the moment.
Emma in her element, shot by Harrison Glazier
Emma’s Response
“My current body of work addresses the tension between an old world rooted in lived experience and our modern world that exists in virtual space. The impact of virtual experience, derived from technology, removes me from the physical realm. This phenomenon causes me to experience moments differently, creating a consideration for how an experience should be represented virtually, as opposed to how it actually is, thus pulling me out of that moment. In my work, the use of painterly, romantic, and figurative techniques represent the ‘authentic,’ and the use of fabricated collage (or implied collage rendered in paint) evokes “the virtual” — calling attention to this mash-up of tradition and modernity. Subject, object, and architecture are arranged to reveal the non-linear timeline and history that my subjects carry for me.”
“Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a climate dense with fog, has influenced me to represent landscape in a blurred and dreamlike way. The use of natural settings, organic shapes, and colors specific to this landscape are repeated elements in my work. San Francisco is an area of technological innovation and is filled with ‘early-adopters.’ Technology being integrated into every day life is something that I have observed, participated in, and critiqued within my life and work.”
“I utilize many different media to express myself creatively. While I have BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and painting has been and will always be a primary focus for me, I have also found a deep love and appreciation for photography. I have always used photography as a means to evaluate compositions and generate reference material for paintings, but in recent years, my photography practice has taken on a life of its own.”
“In addition to my panting and photo practice I have also started a clothing and accessory line called Weft + Hide. For the company I create hand made leather goods, which I screen-print with my illustrations. In addition to the leather goods I have designed a line of hand painted crepe silk scarves, shift dresses and box tops. All of which are inspired by my background in painting and are intended to bridge the gap between what we hang on our walls as art and what we wear on our bodies as clothing.”
All work (C) 2015 Emma Fineman
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